Pablo de Olavide

Who was Pablo de Olavide?

Pablo de Olavide y Jáuregui was a Spanish politician, lawyer and writer.

He was born in a rich and influential creole Liman family and studied at the San Marcos University of Lima. He hold the doctorate in Theology in 1740 and the degree of Law in 1742. He was appointed assistant of the Consulate Tribunal and oidor of the Audiency of Lima. In 1746, he was indicted for embezzlement and he had to go to Spain to be prosecuted by the Council of the Indies in 1750. He was imprisoned briefly in 1754, but he was finally condemned in 1757 just to temporary disqualification for public offices. In 1755 he got married to a rich widow and traveled through Italy and France. He met the most outstanding European enlightened philosophers and writers, like Voltaire and his Madrid house was one of the most notable meeting point of the Spanish enlightened elites.

Thanks to his influential friends and to the new political climate after the Esquilache Riots he could resume his bureaucratic and political career. In 1767, he was appointed director of the San Fernando and Madrid Royal Hospices. He enthusiastically followed the reformist policies promoted by Campomanes and Aranda. That same year he was appointed intendent and asistente of Seville and he was the first superintendent of the newly established Nuevas Poblaciones of Andalusia, that were intended to exploit vast portions of arable lands. He succeeded to establish forty new settlements. As Seville's asistente, he implemented enthusiastically enlightened and reformist policies. He improved Sevillian municipal treasury, public supplies, urbanism and public works. He reformed and secularised welfare assistance and planned a reform for the University of Seville. He wrote a report about the project for a new agrarian law, which is one of the most important Spanish physiocrat writings.